Reasons for Skipping the Minivan

When we had Boy#1, we shared one vehicle. If I wanted to do something with the baby, I had to drive HockeyDad to work and then pick him up at the end of the day. Sometimes it was worth the effort, and sometimes it wasn’t. At that time, we had a Mazda3 that barely accommodated a rear facing seat.

So when we were expecting Boy#2, we knew that we would have to get another vehicle. Something larger that could handle two car seats. Knowing that we were going to have one more after this second baby, we checked out a few crossovers and realized that they wouldn’t work for where we were in life.

They weren’t quite as adaptable seven years ago.

I found myself the primary driver of a brand new minivan.

Sigh.

Seven years down the road, I am antsy for the day I can trade out of this vehicle. And I’ll tell you why.

All those cup holders that seem like such a great idea when you first get the van? They collect junk. Dust, food bits and quite likely a good deal of juice that children often spill. And they are a royal pain in the rear to clean out properly. At this point, I’ve mostly given up and opt instead to just not look at the cup holders next to Boy#1’s seat.

The biggest selling feature of a minivan is supposed to be it’s space. Um, I don’t know who designs these things, but I promise you there is just as much space in a decent SUV as there is in my minivan. On more than one occasion I have gone to get groceries and found myself playing Tetris around the hockey bags that often stay in the back.

If you do not park your van in a garage, you will find yourself unable to get into said van in the middle of the winter on the coldest day possible when you are already running late. I promise you nothing will prompt me to curse more than realizing this point. I bought this van so that the small people I gave birth to could get themselves into the van with ease. If I find myself having to climb into the van through the trunk, I guarantee you I will be irate.

Parking. OMG, the parking. For the life of me I can not understand why hockey arenas have such teeny tiny parking spots. They need the spots that Costco has. Because I promise you that 90% of the vehicles parked in that lot are either minivans or trucks. They are not little cars. And even if they were, the vehicles in that lot are bringing small children with large equipment bags and children are clumsy and don’t think about the cars parked beside them. It takes me at least three tries to get the van into the spot properly. It’s like trying to park a bus.

Speaking of bus, it’s also like driving one. I might have a heavy foot. And I perhaps want to get up to speed in a short amount of time. Minivans are not built for driving this way. Not even a little. They are like driving a big old bus.

But let’s be honest, the thing is paid for. It runs. I’ve learned its quirks and eccentricities. And the mess inside is mostly a result of me not taking the time to clean it, so that’s on me, not the van. So as much as I might want to be rid of it, until something major goes wrong with it, I’ll be driving it.

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Hi, I’m Stacey!

The only woman in a house of men. Shameless consumer of all forms of caffeine. Voracious reader. Wearer of many hats, though not literal hats. Those ones never fit the way they should. Read More…

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The HockeyMom Chronicles is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.ca